By: Associated Press//August 16, 2011//
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The attorney for a teen charged with two counts of first-degree homicide in the shooting death of a pregnant woman in Milwaukee says the teen has no prior criminal convictions.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that 15-year-old Malik Merchant made his first court appearance on Monday. He did not enter a plea.
Judge Marshall Murray set bail at $150,000 in cash as assistant district attorney Mark S. Williams requested. That means Merchant is likely to stay in detention until Friday’s preliminary hearing.
Merchant’s public defender had argued for $30,000 to $40,000 in bail, saying Merchant had no prior criminal record.
Thirty-four-year-old Sharon Staples was killed Aug. 7 after she refused to give her purse to two armed robbers. Police allege Merchant was the lookout.
Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com